News

Oct

2014

Homecoming 2014

The weekend past: A big thank you to those who joined us at our alumni reception Friday, October 24 and at Homecoming on Saturday the 25th. The Marching Band fielded 69 musicians and miscies at the game and – we thought – sounded outstanding, thanks to a large contingent of lower brass and an increasing emphasis on musicality. The managers tell us that the repairs and purchases made possible by our instrument drive play a big part in the group’s improved sound, which makes us feel real good. You’ll find a few choice photos of the weekend below.

Saturday afternoon, November 8: Some alumni have expressed interest in gathering to cheer on the Marching Band at the upcoming Columbia-Harvard game in Cambridge. There may be a group traveling from New York: Band groupies. We’ll try to help non-Cantabridgians link up for transportation to Harvard Stadium; please email columbiabandalumni [at] gmail.com. Let me know also, please, if you’re in the Boston area and would like to come sit with the Band or bring your instrument and play along.

Monday evening, November 10: The Wind Ensemble, coming off its first concert of the academic year last night, is calling an open rehearsal to include Wind Ensemble and Concert Band alumni. Get or keep in shape by sitting in as the group works on Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture” and other pieces under its new director, Jason Noble. For details of time and place, email wind-exec@columbia.edu.

: Homecoming is almost here!

Sep

2014

Fall 2014 Update — Homecoming!

You won’t want to miss another great gathering of band alumni, centered around Homecoming 2014 — Columbia vs. Dartmouth on Saturday, October 25!

Annual Homecoming Reception & Reunion
On Friday, Oct. 24, alumni of the Marching Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band will again gather at the Columbia Alumni Center, 622 West 113th Street, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. If you’re in or near New York, please join us to munch some light snacks, reminisce with other Band alumni of your era and meet some new alums of all vintages. The current Marching Band will be there too, eager to meet you.

Play Along!
As usual, alumni who still have the chops are invited to play at the Homecoming game vs. Dartmouth, Saturday, Oct. 25. (Kickoff is 1:30 PM.) Luisa Cruz CC97 will guest conduct “Sans Souci” at the end of halftime. If you’d like to bring your instrument or borrow one and play on the field or just in the stands, please let us know soon. We can even provide sheet music for “Roar, Lion, Roar” if you’ve forgotten your part.

Share Your Band Stories
The University-wide Columbia Alumni Association has launched a community-building initiative to gather stories and experiences from alumni around the globe this month. They’d love to have Band memories in the mix. You can tell the world here.

The Fall Season Has Begun!
Back on campus, the Wind Ensemble is preparing for its autumn concert, probably to take place in late October. The Marching Band, bigger than it has been in some time, is having its growing pains partly softened by support from your Association’s instrument drive; look for some new instruments and some newly restored ones when you next see the group in action.

Aug

2014

Richard B. Heyman, CC ’69, Passes Away

Richard B. Heyman

With sadness, we report the death on August 13 of former Columbia Band tuba player and head manager Richard B. Heyman CC ’69. After his band career, Dick earned his medical degree at Columbia and went on to be a longtime pediatrician in Cincinnati and its suburban areas. He mostly retired to Hilton Head, South Carolina, only withdrawing fully from his medical practice when he became ill this past June. In Hilton Head, he enjoyed zip lining with his grandchildren, and also served on the Board of Directors of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra.

His former colleagues at Suburban Pediatric Associates paid tribute to him on the medical group’s Facebook page, noting some of his very Band-like qualities:

…There are so many things that we will miss at SPA about Dr. Heyman. For the past 36 years he graced us with his wisdom, his humor, his songs, his limericks, his pranks, and especially his wonderful hugs.

The full obituary, published in The Island Packet, can be found here.

As a remembrance, we would like to share this picture of Dick from the archives, taken at the King’s Crown Activities Fair in 1968. In it, he wears the infamous “raccoon coat” — in the band of the 1960s, it was typically worn by the head manager.

Richard Heyman in the raccoon coat, 1968.

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